Greed

And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.
-Luke 12:15 (King James Version)

Our society measures success as what you possess. Jesus teaches us a different approach, one that seems to go against what our society says.

Jesus said, in Luke 12:15, "And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth." To give a little background to this statement, we read in verse 13, "And one of the company said unto him, Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me." It is apparent that someone was jealous of the inheritance he received, or he felt slighted by not receiving an inheritance, or that his share wasn't equal with the share of his brother. He wanted Jesus to do something about it. But, when you sit and think, what is at the root of this mans request of Jesus? Jealousy. He could not be happy for the inheritance his brother received. How do you react when in situations like this?

Jesus warned His listeners to "beware of covetousness." In other words, He was warning them to guard themselves against greed. Greed is born of a jealous spirit. We, today, must be careful not to fall into the same trap. Jesus goes on to tell why we must guard ourselves against the trap of greed. "for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of things which he possesseth." Our life isn't measured by our bank account or possessions. Yet, our society looks at things like that. 

Jesus goes on to tell them a parable. We'll study that tomorrow. For now, though, do you have a quest for possessions? Is greed found in your life? Think About It.